TENEKE TRAMPET (TIN DRUM)

In 1997 Cem Pulathaneli and Oguz Tarihmen, two pupils of the German School Istanbul, started writing songs. After a while they wanted to share their music with other people and started singing their songs in the street. Thus Baris Tuncer, also songwriter, joined the band. Inspired by the famous German author Guenther Grass’s novel, they named their band "Teneke Trampet" ("Tin Drum").

With guitars, percussions and flutes the Trio started making an acoustic music and singing their own songs in the street and in bookshop-cafes. In Istanbul and on two street music tours in 1997 and 1998 along the Turkish Aegean Coast, they offered their music to the "man in the street". On numerous people’s concerts in Çanakkale, Altinoluk, Ayvalik, Bozcaada, Kusadasi, Çesme and Bodrum they kept on pleasing their audience more and more. Their popularity rose.

One year later, they refused the album offer of a well-known records company since all band members were studying abroad. "Teneke Trampet" had to be dissolved temporarily. However, Cem and Oguz founded in Germany with the help of three German musicians the Anatolian-Westfalian ethnorock band "Rock Güzel" and gave concerts in numerous German cities. In this band they united a primarily oriental sound in “Mogollar style” with Westfalian folk melodies. During this period, Baris returned to Turkey and formed the bands called "E5" and "Bozuk Para".

In 2004 Cem returned to Turkey, too. Together with the bass player Osman Ersoy, "Teneke Trampet" had in the same year its revival, worked out a repertoire within short time and participated in the alternative rock festival "BarisaRock".

After a second break in 2006 the young drummer Egemen Özaltinkol joined the band. In the mean time, in 2005 Oguz went to Uganda and founded there a band together with African musicians. Under the artist’s name “Oguzi Ndizi” (Oguz Banana) he wrote a song about Uganda’s capital “Kampala”, participated with this song in a BBC Swahili song contest and became the Ugandan champion. He represented with this song Uganda in the international contest and got the 5th place (www.myspace.com/oguzindizi). Next year he ended his adventure in Uganda and came back to Istanbul and Teneke Trampet for good so that the band is now again active. In March 2007 Osman quit from the band, Alex Klein replaced him and percussionist-vocalist Gaye Amus joined the band. Later, when Alex had to go back to Germany, the bass player Caleb Lauer, a Canadian journalist who recently came to Turkey, and cellist Çiko Türkoglu, Teneke Trampet had its current formation.

At the moment, the band is planning a series of performances, a new demo and the participation in several rock festivals. Teneke Trampet’s music range reaches from jazz to blues, from folk to rock. From time to time, some oriental elements are also to be found in their music.

One sunny evening, you might come across to them in Kadiköy Bahariye, as well.

In the general elections on July, 22nd, Teneke Trampet supports the common candidate campaign (www.ortakaday.net) and asks every democratic citizen to vote who is willing to take sides for the oppressed. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.